To lessen the damage to soft parts around bone while surgically implanting a screw inside the body, typically to a bone, joint, or vertebra, the procedure should be carried out without uncovering large areas of the parts to be treated, i.e., smaller incisions and less invasive surgery techniques. The use of clamping tongs to insert bone or pedicle screws is no longer suitable when employing minimally invasive surgery techniques.
European Patent No. 458,449 of Ryder discloses a fastener drive tool for applying a rotational torque to a threaded fastener for driving the fastener into or out of a workpiece. The drive tool has an elongated shaft portion with a free end that is engageable with a recess formed in the fastener. The drive tool has at least one interlobular fastener retention piece attached between two convex partially-cylindrical surfaces that engage a corresponding convex partially-cylindrical surface formed in the fastener recess. The interlobular fastener retention piece retains the fastener on the drive tool when the drive tool is engaged with the fastener recess and prevents wobbling of the fastener when driven by the drive tool, but requires a significant portion of the surface and, therefore, can weaken the cross-section of the shaft, particularly when using smaller screws.
A need exists for a type of screw holder adapted for surgical use. Palliation is a key feature in the design of any surgical tool. A screw holder that might ease the pain typically associated with implantation of a screw into the body, without losing the positive benefits of the surgery, would be beneficial in the art. The present invention aims at solving this need in the art by configuring a screw holder to hold a bone or pedicle screw while being turned in or out.